What Would You Have The Lord Do For You?

by Chris Simmons

In Mark chapter 10, as Jesus departed from Jericho, he encountered a blind man who cried out to Him, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (verse 48). Jesus called for him and simply asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” (verse 51). We then read of the blind man asking for his sight and Jesus healing him. But Jesus’ question is an interesting one for us today. What are we looking to the Lord to do for us?

Many look to Jesus to take care of all of their physical needs. We read in John chapter 6 of Jesus feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fish. After Jesus departed, the multitudes sought after Him and found Him on the other side of the sea. Knowing their hearts, Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life” (John 6:26-27). The multitude wanted to make Jesus their king, not because of what He could do for them spiritually, but because they thought He could take care of all of their fleshly desires. When many of those discovered that Jesus’ purpose was to teach and not to fill their stomachs, John records that “many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore” (John 6:66). Many today preach what has been described as the “gospel of health and wealth” or the “social gospel.” That is, that the purpose of serving God is so that He can bless you with all of the material things of life. There are two problems with such a message: one, it’s not found in God’s word and therefore is untrue, and second, it doesn’t work! Is that what we’re looking to the Lord to do for us? God never promised that!

There are others who would have the Lord grant them wisdom and intelligence. Solomon was granted the opportunity by God to “ask what I shall give thee” (I Kings 3:5). God was pleased with Solomon’s request to have “an understanding heart to judge Thy people to discern between good and evil” (I Kings 3:9). Would we desire that God also grant us the wisdom to “discern between good and evil”? James teaches us that the man who “lacks wisdom” is to “ask of God” for His wisdom by asking “in faith without any doubting” (James 1:5-6). Let us not be those who seek first after the wisdom of the world (cf I Cor. 1:18-25) so that we might be praised by men and have the riches and power we associate with such. Let us go to God for the “wisdom from above” that is “peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, (and) without hypocrisy” (James 3:17; cf Proverbs 2:6).

Many would also have the Lord keep them from ever facing any temptation. We are indeed taught to pray “do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13). We can be assured that God will never lead us into temptation, but He did not say we would not face temptation. We bear the responsibility to not put ourselves in harms way in regards to sin and temptation. It is up to us whether or not we give “the devil an opportunity” (Ephesians 4:27). It is our responsibility to “make no provision for the flesh in regards to its lust” (Romans 14:13-14). God is not the source of temptation (James 1:13-14). Rather, God has promised that there will always be a “way of escape” when the temptations confront us (I Corinthians 10:13), but it is up to us to pursue it.

There are others who would have God ensure that life is fair. Peter, upon learning from Jesus the type of death that he would ultimately suffer, looked to Jesus to ensure that it would be fair for all of the apostles. “Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them … seeing him said to Jesus, ‘Lord, and what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!’” (John 21:20-22). Even if life’s not fair and we have to suffer more than others, we must continue to follow after Jesus. Another example is found in Luke 10:38-42 when Martha was so concerned about her sister Mary not doing her fair share of the work, but rather sat at the Lord’s feet to listen to His words. To this Jesus responded, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Would we, as Mary, seek for every opportunity to be taught God’s will or are we more concerned with life being fair?

Above all else, there is one thing that we should request that the Lord do for us that amazingly is neglected by so many. That is, to be saved from the condemnation of our sins and be righteous in His sight. This has to be first on our list of priorities. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). The Philippian jailor had just one request of what the Lord could do for him, “what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). The Jews on the day of Pentecost desired the same thing, “brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Is that what we desire of the Lord? In both cases, both the jailor as well as those in Acts 2 demonstrated the understanding that there is something that they “must do” (Acts 9:6). Many people would have God save them without any effort on their part. Our obedience and our repentance demands efforts and demands changes on our part (cf Acts 2:40; Philippians 2:12; II Corinthians 7:10-11) if we desire to be saved by the Lord.

So what would you have the Lord do for you?